Monday, July 25, 2011

Today’s Video: Shooting at Cerro Maravilla

Today marked the thirty-third anniversary of the Cerro Maravilla incident where two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists were shot by police under unusual circumstances. The controversial killings shook up Puerto Rican politics during the late 1970s and 1980s. Investigations by the commonwealth's legislature into the event revealed a cover-up effort by some local law enforcement authorities and allegations of possible misconduct in the probes conducted by U.S. federal agencies.

Some members of the Puerto Rican independence movement gathered at the Cerro to commemorate the deaths of Carlos Soto Arriví and Arnaldo Darío Rosado in 1978. (The independentistas view the slain men as having died for their cause and have nicknamed the Cerro as the "Hill of the Martyrs.")

The following video is from a 1984 episode of "60 Minutes" that focuses on the Cerro Maravilla incident. In the report, the late Ed Bradley questions then-Gov. Carlos Romero Barcelo over his claims that the killed men were "terrorists" intent on blowing up a TV transmission tower. The report aired days before Romero Barcelo lost his bid for a third straight term as governor.

The second part of the "60 Minutes" report can be viewed here.

Video Source - YouTube
Online Sources - Wikipedia, El Nuevo Dia

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